Flesch Reading Ease
Some writers use a stream of consciousness process when writing. This method can deliver lively, entertaining work which is easy to read. Others plan carefully, doing rigorous research and double-checking facts. Many fall somewhere between the two, aiming for interesting content without being didactic.
I review my blog posts before publishing them. I do this to try and make sure that no dreadful bloomers escape into the wider world. I do not always succeed.
Anyway, after completing my previous post about Gilbert’s detached squeaker, I followed the usual review process. Then I did something I haven’t done before: out of curiosity, I looked at ‘Insights,’ under which heading came ‘Document stats.’ The analysis for the ‘squeaker’ blog post can be seen above.
The Flesch Reading Ease test determines how readable a text is. It looks at the average number of words in sentences and the complexity of the vocabulary. There is more information here.
When a score between 0 to 100 is established, accompanying notes indicate the level of readability.
From Wikipedia:
|
Score |
School
level (US) |
Notes |
|
100.00–90.00 |
5th grade |
Very easy to read. Easily
understood by an average 11-year-old student. |
|
90.0–80.0 |
6th grade |
Easy to read. Conversational
English for consumers. |
|
80.0–70.0 |
7th grade |
Fairly easy to read. |
|
70.0–60.0 |
8th & 9th grade |
Plain English. Easily
understood by 13- to 15-year-old students. |
|
60.0–50.0 |
10th to 12th grade |
Fairly difficult to read. |
|
50.0–30.0 |
College |
Difficult to read. |
|
30.0–10.0 |
College graduate |
Very difficult to read. Best
understood by university graduates. |
|
10.0–0.0 |
Professional |
Extremely difficult to read.
Best understood by university graduates. |
What sort
of writer are you? Do you review what you have written before you post it?
Readability statistics for this post: